According to the United Health Foundation, The Burden of Diabetes in Missouri is on the Rise, Affecting Over Ten Percent of Residents

According to the United Health Foundation, The Burden of Diabetes in Missouri is on the Rise, Affecting Over Ten Percent of Residents

According to the United Health Foundation, diabetes is an increasing public health problem in Missouri, ranking the state 33rd in the nation, with over 10 percent of adults diagnosed with diabetes. The foundation states type 2 diabetes accounts for nearly 95 percent of diagnosed diabetics, which is also the most common type of diabetes in Obstructive Sleep Apnea patients. Dental Sleep Medicine education company, Sleep Group Solutions offers continuing education lectures on the topic, to teach dentists how to screen and treat for snoring and sleep apnea, and discuss the risk factors involved. The St. Louis, Missouri lecture will be on November 8-9th at the Embassy Suites in Downtown St. Louis, dentists and hygienists are encourage to attend.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common and frequently unrecognized disorder. It is often found in patients with obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, and there is growing evidence that sleep apnea is independently associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity. Dentists around the world are being trained on how to treat these patients, and commonly using oral devices, which keep the airway open, to allow oxygen in. Dentist, and Sleep Apnea expert, Dr. Jeffrey Horowitz, will be teaching his fellow dentists in St. Louis next month on implementing a proper sleep protocol. “Healthy sleep is essential for a healthy life. Quality sleep increases energy and promotes lower blood glucose levels, very important for the diabetic patient,” says Dr. Horowitz. Diabetes is just one example of a serious risk factor associated with OSA.

According to a recent study by Suzanne Boyer, MD and Vishesh Kapur, MD, MPH, diabetes and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are common disorders that often coexist. One explanation for this overlap is the presence of shared risk factors such as obesity. There may also be a more complex relationship between these conditions in which an underlying metabolic disorder predisposes to both, or in some cases, one could influence the development of the other. Trained dentists are beginning to see the OSA connections in many sleep apnea patients. "We know that diabetics have much more difficulty with regulation of fat and weight gain–possibly related to the concentrations of leptin released from their adipocytes (fat cells)," says Scott F. Bobbitt, DMD, MAGD a General Dentist and Dental Sleep Medicine expert in Nashua, New Hampshire. Dr. Bobbitt attended an SGS seminar and offers treatment for sleep apnea. "Of course, if you delve deeper, patients with apnea experience less deep sleep and REM, thereby reducing the release of melatonin, which one recent study reported to regulate the release of leptin. Though disputed in other studies, it's an interesting area of further research," concludes Dr. Bobbitt. During the Sleep Group Solutions lecture, Dr. Horowitz will walk the group through shared risk factors associated with OSA, visual signs and symptoms, treatment options, working with physicians, oral appliances, and a scientific and systematic approach to treating sleep disordered breathing patients. “Our two-day lecture will leave you with the confidence and knowledge you need to implement Sleep, I look forward to meeting everyone, and being a part of their Dental Sleep Medicine journey,” mentions Dr. Jeffrey Horowitz.

It is important to have heightened awareness of symptoms and signs of OSA in a diabetic patient population, as well in your general patient population. The OSA connection includes many shared risk factors such as; stroke, heart attack, GERD, Fibromyalgia, high blood pressure and hypertension. Dentists and hygienists interested in attending the St. Louis seminar, can find more information here.

About Dr. Jeffrey Horowitz

Dr. Jeff Horowitz, a native of Old Bridge, New Jersey, completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Pittsburgh , receiving early admission to dental school after his junior year. In 1991 he earned his Doctorate of Dental Medicine degree from the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr Horowitz has dedicated himself to continuing education, earning him the fellowship award from the Academy of General Dentistry, Mentorship status at the prestigious Kois Center for Advanced Dental Studies, and fellowship in the Pierre Fauchard Academy. Dr. Horowitz is also a member of the American Association of Dental Sleep Medicine.

About Nashua Dentist Dr. Scott Bobbitt

After more than two decades in the practice of the art and science of modern dentistry, Dr. Bobbitt is as passionate and enthusiastic as he was as a student. His extensive background in mathematics, chemistry, woodworking, carpentry and art provide a sound foundation for a practice that emphasizes the understanding of how his patients are affected by dental materials.

His Nashua, New Hampshire practice, Scott F. Bobbitt, General, Laser, and Implant Dentistry focuses on the need to engineer a “lifetime approach” to personal dental care. His primary focus is to help his patients understand, control and achieve their own dental goals. To learn more about Dr.Bobbitt’s many academic achievements, please visit their website.

About Sleep Group Solution

Sleep Group Solutions is an airway diagnostic technology company serving the needs of physicians and dentists interested in screening, diagnosing and treating sleep apnea and other upper airway disorders. Sleep Group Solutions offers the latest screening and diagnostic equipment solutions for patients with allergy, sinus congestion, rhinitis, deviated septum, nasal polyps, snoring and sleep apnea. SGS offers the most comprehensive dental sleep medicine CE seminars in the industry focused on teaching dentists the protocols needed to make the treatment of snoring and sleep apnea part of their practice. Sleep Group Solutions offers sleep study interpretation, oral appliances (Norad Boil & Bite, Respire), online directory 1800SleepLab.com and online marketing for CPAP Intolerant patients. SGS is the manufacturer of the Eccovision Systems Rhinometer and Pharyngometer, and offers Home Sleep Testing devices from Watermark Medical.

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